St Catherines (Dublin) News

Finding your ancestors' dwelling places

What buildings remain and their date of construction. Who were the owners, landlords, or rental managers. Who were their officially listed tenant(s), and who really lived there.

For instance, on Thomas Court, the map ends at 43 Thomas Court, and yet city directories such as 1836 show 44 Thomas Court Michael Kelly, grocer and spirit dealer.

Are the numbers the same today? Did they change? Did they differ on account of different building configurations.

We believe 44 Thomas Court was directly across the street from, or adjacent to St.Catherine's church (CofI). But it doesn't show on the map. Thomas Court ranges to 50 Laurence Fagan, straw dealer, the Meath Charitable Loan Offices, and the Engine house of St. Catherine's. That is quite a diverse presence in one building.

Arthur Guinness is listed at 1 Thomas Street, where was that located then and today. Thomas Street then ranges across 32 Thomas Ward, 39 James Ward, 74 James and Leiws Moore, grocers tea wine and spirits, 134 John Fitzpatrick tallow and soap maker, 141 John Fitzpatrick board and lodging, 156 Tobias Kavanaugh.

Individuals, and their specific dwelling places, seem to have changed quite often in the early 1800s, making it difficult to pin down specific families, relatives, or neighbors Migrations and armed conflicts also took their toll.

If you know about any of the individuals or businesses on the City Directories, we would love to hear from you.